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Elbow Leaning and why you should stop now.

Elbow Leaning and why you should stop now.

Carpal Tunnel, tennis elbow, shoulder pain, neck pain, who would have thought they could all be related.

If you are a gamer and if you are in college, high school, at your desk at work, at home surfing the net, or even at the airport on your laptop, and if you find yourself leaning on one elbow or both, or have both elbows on the desk or armrest, STOP NOW.

For a long time now, or since maybe the ps/xbox controller came out I have not been able to use it, due to pain in my thumbs which I guess can be related to forms of carpal tunnel.

However what started as all nighters in boarding school and in college with me leaning on my elbows on my desk or even in class trying to cover my face so the teacher wouldn't see that i'm sleeping has turned into unbearable pain.

Carpal tunnel is one thing, but when you develop a habit of leaning on your elbow(s), its tougher to stop than you think.

The nerves on your elbows are shot, I started leaning on my left elbow over ten years ago and now pain radiates from time to time up and down my arm, especially if I find myself leaning on it, even though I think i just do it without even realizing, but if my arm is bent for medium lengths of time, I get tennis elbow a whole lot faster.

Stress and pain radiate to the left side of my shoulder, and that effects my neck and my overall movement.

Posture is another thing, try not to slump, because when you slump especially when you game, you will lean on your elbows more, and that's where it starts.

I haven't been gaming that much due to this, and due to RL, but I recently and finally changed the placement of my parents computer and that has helped but even as I type this and my elbows are off the desk, I am sitting upright I can still feel pain in my hand and some pain starting to creep up around my elbow because its bent at a 90 degree angle for more than 20 mins.

My advice to you, especially if you are in your Teen years is DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR ELBOWS!!!!! Sit upright and get those ergonomic pads, I haven't yet but I need to, and it will help, but most importantly don't lean on your elbows you will mess them up and in ten years + you will be feeling the pain I am feeling now.

Crap, Delta man, you sound just like me (or rather me like you). I lean A LOT on my left elbow. I've actually been trying to stop lately for a different reason: my left elbow's skin is really dried out and crackly. Trying to get it healthy like my right elbow. I even went the extra mile and switched to my nice pleather chair with the arm rests so I could rest my arms on it rather than putting my elbow up.

And like you said, it's a very hard habit to break. I do it a lot when I'm stressed out trying to figure out something on my computer, in my code, etc. Thank you for posting this! Now I have another reason to stop elbowing my table (and eventually hopefully stop carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist and hand too). :p